Huaishan's words were polite, so Zhou Shaojin naturally couldn't lose her manners. She smiled and said, "Uncle Chi is busy, and I'm afraid he won't have time to take care of these trivial matters for a while."
"Yes!" Huaishan greeted her, "Fortunately, our master is not such a picky person..."
Still not particular
Zhou Shaojin thought of the bowls Cheng Chi used for eating, the teacups he used for drinking, the incense he used on his body... He felt that Cheng Chi was not particular, he just seemed to be making do.
As the two were talking, Qingfeng hurried in, wiped the sweat off his forehead, saluted to Zhou Shaojin, and said to Huaishan: "Uncle, the fourth master wants to see the landscape map that he brought back from Kaifeng Prefecture last time. I remember it was put in the box with the seal of the word 'Yin'. You have to open the box."
Zhou Shaojin smiled and said without waiting for Huaishan to speak: "Go quickly! I'll wait here."
Huaishan glanced at Zhou Shaojin apologetically and said, "I'll urge the Fourth Master when I go in."
How could he talk to himself properly when he had something on his mind
Zhou Shaojin smiled and said, "You don't have to rush. If the Fourth Master is busy for the moment, just come out and tell me. I will come to visit you another day."
Huaishan responded with a smile, and left the banquet room with Qingfeng.
Zhou Shaojin looked around the room casually for a while.
This banquet room is really lifeless. There is not even a teacup or teapot, let alone flowers, plants and bonsai for entertaining guests.
If she were to decorate the room, it would be best to put new bright red brocade cushions on the kang, use pastel-colored flower and bird teacups, and place a few pots of seasonal flowers on the tea table. The room would immediately come alive...
She pondered in her mind and retreated to the door of the house, wondering if her idea was the best.
The curtain at the door was suddenly lifted and someone walked in.
Zhou Shaojin was shocked.
Chun Wan, who had come with Zhou Shaojin, hurried forward to block Zhou Shaojin and shouted, "Who is it? How dare you break into the inner house!"
The other party was a young man of seventeen or eighteen years old, with a young servant who was still a child. He was wearing a royal blue robe with purple auspicious cloud patterns. Upon hearing this, a cloud of red immediately rose on his fair face. He bowed his head and said, "I didn't know there was a female guest here. I'm sorry for being so rude. Please forgive me. I will leave now."
Having said that, he turned around and walked out through the curtain.
The servant looked at Zhou Shaojin curiously, then immediately opened his mouth wide, as if he had seen something extraordinary, and after a while he ran out of the banquet room.
Chun Wan said, "Miss, let's go back! The fourth master doesn't have any female relatives to manage the household affairs, so I'm afraid the guests won't pay much attention, so that no one can come in and bump into Miss again."
Zhou Shaojin nodded grimly.
Although Uncle Chi treated her well, he didn't take her to heart. He knew she was coming, but he didn't even say anything and just let the guest walk around.
She felt as if her heart was being squeezed and she couldn't breathe.
Just like in Jiuru Lane, there seemed to be very few people serving Cheng Chi. When they went out, they didn't even see anyone on duty. Zhou Shaojin had to rely on her experience to go to the back seat which might be set up as a study.
After exiting the Chuihua Gate, they finally saw a woman passing by.
Zhou Shaojin found out that she was Cheng Chi's newly bought maid, and then asked her to take a message to Huaishan.
The maid's face was full of amazement. She looked at her several times before she smiled and said "yes" respectfully, and went to find Huaishan.
Zhou Shaojin didn't even have the mood to wait for Huaishan. She said to Chunwan unhappily, "I'll go wait in the sedan chair. You stay here and say hello to Huaishan!"
Chun Wan also felt that Yuqian Hutong was too rude today and had some complaints in his heart. After hearing this, he naturally agreed very much and said, "Then Miss, please sit in the sedan chair first! It would be bad if you stand here and get bumped by others again."
Zhou Shaojin nodded and was about to get into the sedan when Langyue came running over with a tea tray in her arms: "Second cousin, second cousin! Why did you leave? The fourth master was afraid that you would be bored sitting there alone, so he specially asked me to make tea for you. Look, this is the best Dahongpao, your favorite. Someone from the Thirteenth Lines rushed it here yesterday, and the fourth master asked me to bring it to you before he even tasted it..."
Even so, Zhou Shaojin was not happy.
She said in a depressed tone, "Thank you, Langyue, thank Uncle Chi for me. But I've been out for long enough, my sister is still waiting for me to come back, and my nephew also wants my help, so I won't wait for Uncle Chi. I'll come to visit Uncle Chi again in a few days."
Zhou Shaojin spoke sincerely, so Lang Yue naturally couldn't keep her. He sent her to the sedan chair and went back to report to Cheng Chi.
Cheng Chi was discussing the management of the Yellow River in Kaifeng Prefecture with Old Master Song, and was stunned when he heard this.
Shao Jin has a gentle personality and is never in a hurry to leave when she comes to his place. When he is busy, she can always find things to do for herself. What happened to her today
Is there something difficult that requires me to wait, and I have to find another way to deal with it
But Nanny Shang didn’t mention anything when she came over yesterday
Or is there something that even Nanny Shang doesn’t know
He couldn't sit still when he thought about it. He didn't listen to what Old Master Song said. He just said "hmm" a few times until he realized that there was no sound in the room. He looked up and saw Old Master Song's surprised eyes. He realized that he was distracted and said hurriedly, "I suddenly thought of something."
Old Master Song was very dissatisfied and said, "Then let's take a break and wait until you have cleared up the distracting thoughts in your mind."
Is it so obvious in your performance
Cheng Chi suddenly felt guilty, and responded casually, then actually called Huaishan in to talk under the veranda.
Old Master Song was so angry that his eyes widened.
He wanted Cheng Chi to discuss the Yellow River management issue with him without distraction, rather than asking him to drop the current task to take care of trivial matters.
This is the sedan chair he built for Cheng Chi.
If the plan they discussed was really feasible, he would recommend Cheng Chi to his son and let Cheng Chi go to the Ministry of Works to manage the river. With Cheng Chi's family background and real skills, he would be able to move freely in the Ministry of Works in two years at most. Wouldn't he be more respected than him, a man who was a double-listed Jinshi and haggled over every penny with those merchants all day long? Moreover, if he could manage the river well, it would be a blessing for the people too!
Old Master Song slammed his teacup down on the tea table and said to his servant who was serving in the room, "Where is the eldest young master? I asked you to call him to help, where did he go?"
The servant was the one Zhou Shaojin had just met in the banquet room.
His expression tensed up, and he shouted, "I'll go find the young master right now." But he couldn't help muttering in his heart. Before, the cabinet elder asked the young master to write contemporary essays at home, and you said you wanted to bring the young master out to see it. When the young master came out, you asked the old man to serve the old man with ink and brush. There is nothing wrong with serving the old man with ink and brush. The old man is the grandson and you are the ancestor. It is also filial piety! But the young master's ink had just been ground, and you disliked the young master being in the way here, so you asked the young master to walk around the yard by himself. The young master had just gone out, and you asked him to call him back, saying that no matter what, this is also the inner house, and it is not good to walk around casually. He hurriedly called the young master over, but the old man asked him to wait outside. Now that the young master is waiting outside, the old man said that the young master is running around everywhere... The old man is really hard to serve! No wonder the lady looked at the old man timidly and didn't dare to say a word.
The servant went to invite the eldest son of the Song family, Song Mu, in.
Old Master Song handed a map of mountains and rivers to Song Mu and said, "Take a closer look and see if you can understand it."
Song Mu did not dare to delay and sat down to look at the picture carefully.
Cheng Chi felt inexplicably upset.
He asked Huaishan, "Did you really leave without saying anything? How was your spirit? Was you happy like before, or was you anxious?"
How does he know this
Huaishan was a little dumbfounded. After thinking for a while, he said, "It was Langyue who was serving in the banquet room."
Lang Yue, who was standing aside, glanced at Huai Shan with resentment, thought for a long time, and then said uncertainly: "Second cousin, you don't seem very happy and in low spirits. You always smiled when you met me before, but you didn't smile much this time... But Sister Chun Wan seemed a little angry..."
Yes, when has the little girl ever been angry with him
I'm afraid that maid's emotions are normal!
He asked Lang Yue: "Was it like this when the second cousin came? Or was it like this when she left?"
Lang Yue shook her head and whispered, "When the second cousin came, it was Uncle Huaishan who went to greet her..."
Huaishan glanced at Langyue coldly and said, "When she came, the second young lady was quite nice and happy. She even asked me to tell you slowly. If you are really busy, she will come another day. Later, I helped Qingfeng find something..."
None of them are worry-free.
It would be nice if Nanny Shang was here.
Cheng Chi was in an irritable mood and said, "There are too few people in this house. Find someone to take care of the inner house for me, preferably a woman in her forties."
Young girls always like to meddle in other's affairs and take the initiative to help him with this and that.
Huaishan should be it.
Cheng Chi was no longer in the mood to continue discussing with Old Master Song. He wanted to dismiss Old Master Song with a few words, but Old Master Song had been lonely in the capital for so long. He finally met Cheng Chi, a friend who was very close to him in every way. How could he be dismissed so easily? No matter what Cheng Chi said, he wanted Cheng Chi to bring out the plan for managing the Yellow River section in Kaifeng Prefecture. Cheng Chi was so angry that he said directly, "I have something to do today and can't do this. Let's discuss it another day."
Old Master Song is even more single.
He refused to leave.
"That's fine. I haven't slept well these past few days. Give me a guest room to rest. We can continue the discussion tomorrow."
The emperor will summon his ministers again the day after tomorrow to inquire about this matter. If a plan is put forward before then, it will be a timely relief. It may even reach the emperor's ears.
By then, Cheng Chi wouldn't have to be in such a desperate situation like he is now.
It's better than being stuck with him and unable to get away.
Cheng Chi took a step back and asked someone to clean up the guest room for Old Master Song.
Song Mu's face was so red with shame that it looked like blood would drip out. He respectfully apologized to Cheng Chi, "My family's ancestral home is in Jingzhou, where the harvest is poor nine out of ten years. My grandfather suffered from floods since he was young. His only wish in his life was to control the floods so that the people would not be displaced and family members would not be separated. I hope that my uncle will not be angry and fulfill the pure heart of my ancestor."
Cheng Chi couldn't help but look at Old Master Song's eldest grandson seriously.
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Sisters and brothers, today’s extra update.
O(∩_∩)O~
※(To be continued)